*Gematria
(Hebrew, gimatriyya, from Greek, geomatria). Use or study
of hidden meanings through numbers, especially the numerical equivalence of
letters. The technique is widespread and ancient, being found among Greeks,
Assyrians, and Babylonians. Sargon II built the wall of Khorsabad 16,283 cubits
long because that was the numerical equivalent of his name.
Gematria first appeared in Jewish Literature in the 2nd Century CE. An example of
the use of gematria in interpretation is Rabbi Judah's inference from the verse
'because they are laid waste so that no one passes through...; both the birds of
the air and the beasts have fled' (Jeremiah 9. 10) that no traveller passed
through *Judah for fifty-two years. that is because the numerical value of
of the Hebrew word behemah [behemoth? - Jesse] ('beast') is
fifty-two. Gematria was much employed by the *kabbalists and was used to
prove the *messiahship of *Shabbetai Zevi. Inevitably as time went
on the system became more complicated; so, for example, Moses *Cordovero
listed nine different systems of gematria. Despite criticism, its use was
widespread in both *Sephardi and *Ashkenazi circles where its use is
often less serious. Thus the Hebre words for wine (yayin) and
mystery (*sodh) both = 70, hence the saying, 'When the wine goes in, the
secret will come out'. *Charity is often distributed in multiples of
eighteen because 18 = hai, 'life'.
In Islam, the equivalent techniques as known as 'ilm ul-huruf, based
on *abjad (the numerical value of the letters). Thus Adam and Eve are
specially related to God because their names = the divine Name (of
*Allah).
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